Sacramento said to have put Stojakovic on trading block

Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, January 24, 2006

The Pacers had reportedly agreed to ship the volatile forward to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojakovic, but Indiana coach Rick Carlisle and CEO Donnie Walsh said Tuesday night that no deal was imminent.

"There is no trade right now and there may not be a trade," Carlisle said before Indiana was beaten 96-66 by the Cavaliers. "There's nothing to talk about because there is no trade."

ESPN and The Indianapolis Star had reported earlier Tuesday the teams had agreed to the trade, which was merely awaiting league approval. But Carlisle shot down that report.

"Anything involving speculation and 'what's up' can be saved for another time," Carlisle said. "If there is a trade at some point, you'll hear about it."

Artest confirmed to the Star that the deal had collapsed, but left open the possibility that something could still happen.

"There's no deal," Artest told the newspaper by telephone. "It's not that I don't want to play there ... I'm letting my agent handle things. He's taken over things."

Artest's agent, Mark Stevens, had told The Associated Press earlier Tuesday that a deal to move Artest "is imminent, almost as soon as possible." After the trade apparently collapsed, he did not return phone calls.

The deal would have ended a lengthy standoff between the Pacers and Artest, who was deactivated in December after requesting a trade and was suspended most of last season for his role in one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history.

Sacramento officials and coach Rick Adelman would not comment on Artest before the team played at Philadelphia, and Stojakovic was not at the arena with the team.

"He's got to be a little confused right now if they wanted to trade him," Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim said.

AROUND THE ARENAS: Allen Iverson scored 41 points and Chris Webber had 17 points and 13 rebounds, leading the 76ers to a 109-103 victory over undermanned Sacramento. ... Beno Udrih had season highs of 17 points and eight assists, and Tim Duncan had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead Spurs past the Bobcats 104-76. ... Chauncey Billups beat his old team by five points in the third quarter, sparking the streaking Pistons past the Timberwolves 107-83. ... Dwyane Wade scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half, helping the Heat pull away to a 94-82 win over the Grizzlies. ... Hedo Turkoglu scored 30 points and the Magic beat the Suns 111-102.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, claims Thomas, a member of the basketball Hall of Fame, began harassing Browne Sanders soon after he joined the NBA franchise in Dec. 2003 and that the team fired her in retaliation for complaints about the matter.

Peter Parcher, an attorney for Thomas, in a statement called the lawsuit "a blatant and cynical attempt to get a large sum of money from Madison Square Garden by taking advantage of the celebrity status of my client."

TIP-INS: Philadelphia forward Lee Nailon was arrested Tuesday after a domestic dispute, according to the team. The 76ers refused to give details. ... Nuggets centerMarcus Camby was cleared to play after missing 14 games because of a broken finger. ... The NBA Store will soon be featuring a special edition Kobe Bryant T-shirt and jersey to celebrate his recent 81-point performance, the second-highest in league history.